I Am Ozymandias…

Brideshead Revisited’s Matthew Goode talks about becoming Adrian Veidt and explains how he put his own spin on the character’s origins

Actor Matthew Goode is making the rounds promoting his latest movie Brideshead Revisited, but it seems that what most interviewers really want to know about is his turn as Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias.

AICN was pretty unapologetic when they told Goode they were only going to talk about Watchmen, and Goode was happy to oblige and to spill a few spoilers here and there.

First, Goode confirmed that Bubastis, Adrian Veidt’s genetically altered Lynx cat, would definitely be seen in the film as one of the very few CGI effects.

Goode added that he was happy that very little of the Watchmen movie would include green screen effects explaining, “I fucking hate CGI.” With that comment Goode assured that he would never be involved in any future George Lucas production. No big loss.

He mentioned that he will most certainly be at Comic Con next week and that fans will be seeing some, as yet, unseen new movie footage. He also spoke about what he had been told by director Zack Snyder about the film’s current epic running time:

Having not seen it myself and having spoken to Zack, he said, "The running time is about three hours right now, and what Warner Bros. don't really get yet is that I've made a three-hour arthouse film." [laughs] "That sounds great!" So I think his integrity with it, and even the color palate he's using, it's trying to serve only the novel and the fans. It's not something he's come on board and reinvented.

What about the ending? Well, Goode gave us a little hint that at least the climax of the film would likely not involve an invented Dr. Manhattan threat, as it has in previous script drafts, and even alluded at the “squid” a bit:

I don't know about you, but I've sat around and joked with people about how it's going to take some outside force for the whole world to unite, which is giving a little bit away. It may or may not be this rather large creation of Adrian Veidt that comes to attack and kill people.

But one of the more interesting stories he told was about a bit of backstory character development he worked out for his character Adrian Veidt. It seems Goode invented a new reason for why Veidt would have given up his large inheritance, aside from proving to himself that he could become wealthy and successful without any outside help:

Perhaps it's because his parents were Nazis, and he was ashamed of that wealth. And also it would be a way to challenge his own intellect. Did he live in Germany before? Wouldn't it be interesting if he did come over here post-WWII after having grown up there as a child? He speaks the German language, and he has an accent. So when he comes over, he works himself up into being this very successful man when we first see him, but how can we distinguish between the public and the private persona? That way, he's the epitome of the American dream. He's built himself up as a self-made man effectively. So the entire world knows him as this guy who speaks with a perfect American accent…hopefully [laughs], but actually with the Watchmen, there's a hint of German, which grows a bit stronger.

An interesting take on the character, but let’s hope the German accent doesn’t come across too thick, or the subtleties of Veidt’s character may get lost and negatively impact the mystery inherent in the story. Goode tried to assure fans about his choice, explaining:

I think they'll get it; I think they will. I hope they don't think I'm being self-indulgent because I think it really serves the film.

Considering that Goode is on shaky ground right now with many fans who are not sure he is right for the part, I hope he’s right. Note to Zack Snyder: Show some Matthew Goode heavy scenes at Comic Con where he knocks it out of the park and nip this skepticism in the bud.